RODBOROUGH COMMON BUTTERFLIES

With the warmest early May Bank holiday weekend on record, the early Spring butterflies are emerging, and I headed off to Rodborough Common to hunt some out. 

It was sunny but slightly cooler than the last few days, which made searching rather more comfortable, and towards the end of my visit it began to cloud over. 

There were plenty of green hairstreaks about, though most preferred perching on grasses, and not always easy to photograph.  As I was trying to photograph one individual, I was approached by another photographer who was keen to point out some rare Pasque flowers. 
He also showed me the best place to look for Duke of Burgundy butterflies and indeed, we soon saw several of these, together with some dingy skippers.  Other butterflies seen included my first speckled wood of the year, orange tip and some whites which   were too distant to identify. 

duke of Burgundy

dingy skipper

green hairstreak

Pasque flowers

speckled wood

Rodborough Common